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One China's court has condemned several leading members of a well-known Burmese mafia to death as Chinese authorities maintains its crackdown on fraudulent activities in Southeast Asian region.

In all, 21 clan individuals and collaborators were convicted of scams, homicide, injury and various crimes, reported a state media document released on the court website.

The group is among a handful of organized crime groups that rose to power in the last two decades and converted the underdeveloped remote area of the town into a wealthy hub of casinos and nightlife areas.

Over the past few years they turned to illegal operations in which numerous of smuggled people, several of them from China, are caught, harmed and forced to scam victims in illegal operations estimated at billions.

Details of the Judgment

Mafia boss the patriarch and his offspring the younger Bai were among the several men sentenced to death by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. Another individual, A third figure and Chen Guangyi were the additional convicted.

A couple of individuals of the clan mafia were given delayed executions. Several were sentenced to permanent incarceration, while nine others were received jail sentences between three to 20 years.

The Bais, who commanded their own private army, created forty-one bases to house their online fraud activities and betting establishments, officials said.

Magnitude of Unlawful Operations

Such illegal enterprises involved over 29 billion yuan ($4.1 billion; over three billion pounds). They also led to the fatalities of six from China individuals, the self-inflicted death of an individual and numerous injuries, official sources announced.

The harsh sentences delivered by the court are part of the Chinese initiative to eradicate the vast scam rings in the region - and deliver a strong signal to further illegal groups.

Context of the Groups

These families gained influence in the recent decades with the assistance of Min Aung Hlaing - who now leads the country's regime. The leader had intended to prop up allies in Laukkaing after ousting its earlier leader.

Within the families, the this family were "absolutely number one", Bai Yingcang earlier stated to state media.

"At that time, the clan was the most powerful in each of the political and military circles," the individual remarked in a film about the clan, broadcast on official channels in July.

During the documentary, a individual at one of fraud facilities narrated the harm he had experienced there: in addition to being assaulted, he had his nails removed with tools and two of his fingers cut off with a tool.

Further Allegations

The son is included in those who were condemned to death this week. The individual has also been separately convicted of planning to trade and produce eleven tons of methamphetamine, state media announced.

Decline of the Families

The families' downfall happened in recent times as political winds altered.

For years Chinese authorities has urged the Myanmar junta to limit fraudulent schemes in Laukkaing.

Recently, the authorities released detention orders for the leading figures of these families.

The patriarch, the Bai family's head, was included in the individuals who were extradited to Beijing from the country in recent months.

"Why is the authorities making so much effort to target the four families?" a expert said in the July documentary.

"It's to warn individuals, regardless of your identity, your location, if you engage in such serious offenses targeting the Chinese people, you will face consequences."